Introduction: One of the baits to catch our attention at the 2005 consumer tackle shows (yes, 2005!) was the then new, River2Sea Wood'n Min 160 - a medium sized wooden swimbait featuring nice, molded detailing and realistic finishes. We walked away from
the show with the bait in hand, but it sat in our arsenal, unused for more than
an entire year before we had the nerve to finally tie it on and take it for a spin, and boy, are we glad we did. Sit with us a spell as we share with you, our story of the River2Sea Wood'n Min 160.

River2Sea Wood'n Min 160 Specifications

Type

Swimbait

Depth

0-2 ft

Class

Floating

Size

6" (1.5 oz or 42 grams)

Colors/Patterns

5 different colors

MSRP

$80 (at time of release) now sub $50

Impressions: The River2Sea Wood'n Min is made from Indonesian Jelutong wood: a wood that is supposedly more evenly structured, dense, and consistent than the typical cedar or basswoods more commonly used for fishing lures. Each bait goes through a painstaking painting process of thirty separate layers before they can be
labeled complete. Though not the most realistic rendition we've seen in a wooden swimbait, the River2Sea Wood'n Min 160 is quite impressive nonetheless. In fact, it's just odd enough to invoke the thought of a collectible from twenty, thirty years ago or more rather than a contemporary fishing lure. Naturally, we're hear to test the validity of our own assessment as we finally found the courage to tie one on and see what kind of fish calling ability it has.

Presenting the River2Sea Wood'n Min 160

The Wood'n Min 160 features detailing reminiscent of lures made decades earlier

The Field Tests: Approaching the task of actually fishing this high priced lure, we looked at it as more of a super-sized jerkbait more than anything else. With that in mind, we needed to select, from our arsenal a combo or two that consisted of good, stout rods but in short enough lengths that we could work this lure like a jerkbait.

Complete test rig for River2Sea Wood'n Min 160 Field Tests

Rod

Megabass F7-69DG Mephisto

Daiwa Heartland Z Hamma Spinnerbait Special

Reel

Conquest 201DC

Daiwa Millionaire Ringa 103L

Line

20 lb Sunline Shooter FC

20 lb Sunline Shooter FC

The natural choices came down to our Megabass F7-69DG Mephisto paired with our Conquest 201DC and our Daiwa Heartland Z Hamma Spinnerbait Special paired with our Daiwa Ringa 103L. Both reels were spooled with 20lb Sunline Shooter FC for these field tests. We did not want run the risk of losing this lure!

Note the sheen of the bait's finish and the prismatic outer circle of the eyes

The tail section of the Wood'n Min is replaceable and each bait comes with one replacement tail. These can also be ordered separately.

Casting:Given it's rather gangly length and jointed body, we suspected we might run into some difficulty casting the Wood'n Min, but thanks to its 1.5 ounces in weight, this bait sails through the air with ease. Casting with accuracy isn't all that easy though, thanks to the large size of this lure. As it was, I fished this bait primarily in open water situations over submerged structure so my ultimate goal was distance over accuracy and I was able to achieve long casts with both combos.

Another look at the replaceable tail section of the Wood'n Min

The Wood'n Min also features realistic pectoral fins that help keep the bait balanced underwater during a retrieve